Of Men and Wolves
by TeeJaye
Summary: Remus Lupin tells his girlfriend, Nymphadora Tonks, the dark secrets of his past. And those secrets are darker than Tonks would ever have guessed. Post HBP. Slightly AU as of DH.


Disclaimer: I do not own Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, any other character, or anything that a Harry Potter fan can recognize as belonging to JK Rowling.

Additional Disclaimer: This is not a romance fic, even if it is RLNT.

This story is now on hiatus. Sorry.

* * *

Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were having dinner together at Remus' house. Remus had done the cooking, as Tonks and kitchens did not mix very well. She had managed to light some candles, but Remus had surreptitiously bewitched them so that they could not set anything else on fire. One could not take chances when Tonks was around. 

"Remus," said Tonks, looking at the wall, where a large photograph was hung, "is that your parents?"

The photograph, unlike those that Tonks was used to, was still and unmoving. The woman in the picture had Remus' eyes and shade of light brown hair.

"My mother and stepfather," Remus corrected her quietly.

"What happened to your father?" Tonks asked.

Remus sighed. "It's long story."

"We've got time," Tonks answered.

"I wouldn't want to spoil your dinner," Remus protested.

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "That bad?"

"Yep," said Remus grimly. "Bad enough that everyone involved decided not to tell me until my seventeenth birthday."

"So what did happen?" pressed Tonks.

"Well… all right," said Remus. "It happened many years ago, when I was just six years old…"

* * *

The Lupin family of number thirteen, Wolverine Street, London, was considered to be normal. In fact, they were considered normal by all their acquaintances, be they magic or Muggle. Mr Romulus Lupin was said to be a lawyer in their Muggle circles, but the witches and wizards who knew them knew perfectly well that he actually worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Ministry of Magic. On the other hand, Mrs Lisa Lupin was a librarian. She did not have to pretend to have a different profession, because she, unlike her husband and son, was a Muggle. And their only son, Remus, at six years old, attended the local school. He was well-versed in wizarding secrecy, and knew full well not to talk about magic or Quidditch with his school friends.

Lisa herself knew only the basics of the wizarding world. She had been shocked when she first found out, the same day that Romulus had proposed to her, that magic really did exist outside of storybooks. She let Romulus deal with everything magical, he let her deal with everything Muggle,and they did their best to compensate between the two. As a result, Remus had been raised adept at dealing with both worlds, and more importantly, keeping them separate. Remus attended the Muggle school now, with the promise of going to the wizarding school, Hogwarts, when he was older.

Lisa had returned to work when Remus started school. Romulus had insisted that she didn't need to, that he earned plenty of money to support her and Remus, but she liked the idea of earning money that didn't need to be exchanged for pounds at the wizarding bank, Gringotts, before being used at most London shops. And in her opinion, Romulus worked too hard. She had tried to convince him to cut back on his hours, but he had insisted that he couldn't. Lately he had been working long hours at the office, then coming home and working even longer in his study. He had told her that he was working on a difficult and important project, but he hoped to be finished soon. He had not told her what it was about, but he rarely ever did. It did not matter to her. She trusted him to take care of the wizarding matters.

* * *

Romulus Lupin strode proudly down the corridor in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. After long, hard work on his part, the Werewolf Act of 1965 had just been passed. 

The Werewolf Act was his pride and joy. From now on, his program would ensure that werewolves no longer posed a threat to society.

As he approached the lifts, one of them opened and a few people got out. A couple of them greeted him, but he replied automatically, his mind still on what had just happened.

It had taken careful planning and long hours to word the Act exactly how he wanted it. It had taken even longer weeks, and a lot of cunning, to convince the Head of the Department for Control of Magical Creatures, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the Minister for Magic himself that they needed such a law.

But it had all paid off. And now, Romulus' plan was in motion. He smiled as he got out of the lift and left the Ministry of Magic.


End file.
